I
n the Spring of 1988 an earthquake registering 8.9 on the Richter scale rumbled through Armenia, the ancient lands of Mt Ararat --where Noah’s Ark is said to have landed.

The devastation and destuction that rocked this small Christian nation located above Iran, killed an estimated 54,000 Armenians, levelling small towns and two medium-sized cities to the ground. Armenians in diaspora around the world were stunned by grief, then mobilized into action.

Humanitarian assistance poured in from all over the world with the first teams arriving from Italy. Doctors and nurses from Medecins sans Frontieres followed. Israel and France delivered aid, as did the neighboring republics of Uzbekistan and Georgia. The U.S. was disappointingly slow, as was Japan, much to the consternation of the Japanese people, who demanded an explanation through letters to their editors and discussions in various media in the weeks that followed.